The present invention relates to a method of feeding packaging material to an operating unit.
In particular, the present invention relates to a method of feeding packaging material to an operating unit of a machine for producing and/or manipulating articles and comprising a feed unit for feeding packaging material at least partly in the form of reels laid flat on a support, the method being of the type comprising the steps of feeding each said reel, by means of a transfer device, to a relative unwinding pin of the feed unit, and unwinding said reel on the relative unwinding pin.
Methods of the above type are disclosed in, or may be derived from EP-A-0 775 659.
The present invention may be used to advantage in any field of industry in which said operating unit forms part of a machine for producing and/or manipulating articles of various types. For example, the present invention may be used in paper or textile mills, and to particular advantage in the tobacco industry for producing tobacco articles such as cigarettes, packets of cigarettes or similar.
In the following description, specific reference is made, purely by way of example, to packaging machines for producing packets of cigarettes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a feeding method of the above type rendering the aforementioned steps of feeding and unwinding the reels as simple an straightforward as possible.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of feeding packaging material to an operating unit of a machine for producing and/or manipulating articles and comprising a feed unit for feeding packaging material at least partly in the form of reels laid flat on a support, the method comprising the steps of feeding each said reel, by means of a transfer device, to a relative unwinding pin of the feed unit, and unwinding said reel on the relative unwinding pin, characterized in that said unwinding pin is fitted to the periphery of a rotary platform rotating about a substantially horizontal axis; the method comprising the further steps of setting said unwinding pin to a substantially radial position with respect to said axis; rotating said rotary platform to set said unwinding pin to a vertical receiving position facing upwards; fitting the relative said reel downwards onto said unwinding pin in said receiving position; and rotating said unwinding pin, with respect to said rotary platform, into an axial position with respect to the rotary platform; said reel being unwound with the relative unwinding pin in said axial position.
The method set forth above preferably comprises the further steps of rotating said rotary platform (28) 180xc2x0; and restoring said unwinding pin (34) to said radial position to detach a core (14xe2x80x2) of the relative said reel (14) by force of gravity from the unwinding pin (34).
The present invention also relates to a feed unit for feeding packaging material, in particular packaging material in reels, to an operating unit.
According to the present invention, on a machine for producing and/or manipulating articles and comprising an operating unit, there is provided a feed unit for feeding packaging material at least partly in the form of reels supported on a support in a flat position; the feed unit comprising at least one unwinding pin for said reels, and a transfer device for transferring each said reel directly from said support to said unwinding pin; said feed unit being characterized by comprising at least one rotary platform rotating about a respective substantially horizontal axis; said unwinding pin being connected to an outer periphery of said rotary platform to oscillate, with respect to the rotary platform and about a respective hinge axis crosswise to both the unwinding pin and the axis of rotation of the rotary platform, between a substantially radial position and a substantially axial unwinding position with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotary platform; said rotary platform rotating about the respective said axis of rotation to set said unwinding pin, when in said radial position, selectively to an upward-facing substantially vertical receiving position to receive the relative said reel flat from above, and to a downward-facing substantially vertical unloading position to unload a core of the relative said reel.